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Lydia Schaffen
Lydia Schaffen was a skilled archer who was one of the Disciples of Maven along Agailla Flurry and Ruklys and was handed one of Laima's Revelations that hid within the Astral Tower. She's very well known in the human world for defeating six demon lords in 27 years, among them, Demon Lord Ziburynas, who was defeated with an arrow known as the Flechette. Record of Solcomm's Attacks on the Astral Tower "If the tower is completed, attacking by force is useless." Solcomm thought. Lydia built the Astral Tower to hide the Revelation she was given by Laima. It is currently watched over by the Resistance, whose members turned against the Schaffenstar Army led by Ignas. Before Medzio Diena, the high-ranked Demons were aware of her skills and how she defeated Demon Lords. Among them, Solcomm was assigned the mission to defeat Lydia and deprive the tower to be built completely. It all started when Solcomm was in the process of gathering his demon henchmen. Mobilizing a large group of demons in the human realm was no easy task, especially when it involved staying under the radar of the goddesses. Perhaps fortunately for him, many were the demons Lydia Schaffen had encountered and killed throughout her life, including several high-ranked demon lords. This was a convenient pretext for Solcomm's side to launch a revenge war without over-worrying about their agreement with the goddesses. Whether it was in true combat, or whether Schaffen killed those demons in self-defense did not matter. The truth remained that they needed to move a whole army of demons. To make matters worse, there was always the chance of an extended war with Lydia and her Schaffenstar organization, which would require constant supply of demon soldiers and trusted officials to command them. It took Solcomm longer than expected to gather demons for combat and sufficient minions to serve them. When he finally arrived at Starlit Lake, he saw in all its glory the Astral Tower, now fully complete and operational. Lydia Schaffen's Notch This story is said to have taken place one day at the Astral Tower. A dispute among the disciples of Lydia Schaffen broke out. Several disciples gathered after the training and in the process such a dialog is said to have come up: No matter how good your bow is, if your skills are lacking, you can't bring out its full potential. Therefore, what is important in the end is your own skill. Such was a claim of a certain disciple, which started the dispute. "You are forgetting the basics of archery. What is an archer? It is someone who uses a tool called a bow, right? Do you think an archer existing without a bow is possible? Even if one gets famous for their skill with sword and spear, can one still call themselves an archer? In the end, archery is the concept of depending on tools, isn't it?" The disciple who had a different view argued back: "You said tools are important, let's talk about that. What is a bow? There are various weapons for an archer. Just like there are weapons that don't need much skill to handle, like a crossbow, there are also weapons, effectiveness of which varies a lot based on a user's skill, like the ones of the Wugushi. The Wind Arrow of the Wugushi is hard to master, it's a difficult weapon to wield for someone without experience, no matter how good the materials of one's bow are. However, calling a catapult or a crossbow a weapon anyone can handle is not correct. You claim archery exists solely because there are tools, this is wrong. This is the same as saying that since people will die if they don't eat, their lives are less important than food and depend on it. Are you claiming that since you eat to be able to live on, you are living to eat?" Upon that, another disciple shared his viewpoint: "You are arguing about the path of the Archer, but you are only concentrating on one aspect. What you fail to address is that no matter how famous an Archer one is, no matter how eagle-eyed one is, what they are using to their advantage is the wind. The arrow could not be shot if it wasn't for the wind and air that carries it to the mark, how could any sharpshooter exist, or rather, how much would an archer be able to do in that case? In the end, what is necessary for an archer is to sense the wind flow and to be able to act on it." From then on, the disciples argued to no end, claims became more diverse and interesting, theories fired back and forth. Finally, they started wondering about what their master, Lydia Schaffen, would think of this. After having told her about the discussion they've had so far, they waited for her reply. When the disciples came to Lydia Schaffen, she is said to have been eating chestnuts using an arrowhead, dangerously perched on the railing of the Astral Tower. Lydia Schaffen continued eating while listening to the disciples, keeping her position on the railing. After they finished, she kept quiet for a while, but before long she fiddled with her fingers through the pile of shells of chestnuts she had eaten and picked out something, reportedly saying this: "What is this?" ''The disciple with the sharp eyes answered before anyone could. "''It's the inner skin of a chestnut." It was very obvious that it was indeed the inner skin of a chestnut, so the others nodded in agreement and waited for their master's next words. And so Lydia Schaffen continued. "No. This is the notch of my arrow." Having said so, she pinched the inner skin of a chestnut between her fingers, took her bow that was lying beside her as always and fired into the sky using the inner skin as a notch. It is said that Lydia Schaffen has settled the dispute of the disciples that way, jumped from the railing she was sitting on and left, leaving the disciples bewildered. Monuments of Lydia Schaffen There exists monuments built by Lydia Schaffen at Goddess Ancient Garden, in which she speaks about her relationship with Ruklys. "My name is Lydia Schaffen. For the reasons I have endured this deep burden of sadness, I am now going to tell the truth about Ruklys on this land. '' ''Ruklys and I were taught by the same master. That's why I know what he is trying to achieve. The stage that Ruklys had reached was astonishing. But, his noble mission was too difficult to be accomplished on this land. Eventually, Ruklys failed. He was destroyed by those who were jealous of him. He left to the goddess by my hands. I leave Ruklys on this land with my regrets and tears. If there is someone who wishes to continue is will, I will leave my secret on this gravestone. I will lay out my long story here." Lydia Schaffen and the Fletcher The Fletcher Master and Lydia Schaffen Even if someone becomes the world's greatest archer, consumption of arrows will always be a problem. Lydia Schaffen's bow was used with great care. However, Schaffen too, uses arrows. But unlike fired arrows, Her bow is permanent even with continued use. Even if it was impossible to create arrows that can be used permanently, Lydia Schaffen delved into arrow crafting techniques. Obtaining materials neccesary to craft arrows was another problem. Troubled greatly by this problem, Lydia Schaffen went on a journey to find the solution. Whether or not she had been granted blessing by the goddess when she met the Fletcher Master or if she found the solution to her problem, Historians will continue to debate about the topic. Many Fletchers had been produced ever since the dawn of time. But talentless numbers are irrelevant. People just call him the Fletcher Master, Lydia Schaffen too,was uncertain of his name. Ever since his rise to fame, People called him the Fletcher Master. People who knew his real name were swept away by the passings of the river of time. His real name, according to some scholars, was said to be John Blacksmith. but the name itself isn't getting any credibility, since you cannot readily accept a famous name that common. Anyway, Lydia Schaffen met this the Fletcher Master who was an arrow expert. Lydia after overcoming her journey, was ready to learn. However, arrow crafting techniques by the Fletcher Master was a secret at that time, and in the years afterwards, a stuff among legends. However, even if you are the world's greatest archer, the goddess' blessing is important to learn the arrow crafting techniques of the Fletcher Master. Therefore only someone who has the blessing of the goddess can be molded to create a the Fletcher Master, like how Lydia Schaffen created new and consistent arrows. Another tale is of the Fletcher Master's secret to avoid combat according to the maker's manual is to hit with certainty somewhere in the spleen. The rapid production of arrows by the Fletcher Master is regarded to be his sole talent. However he may have a secret lying in wait somewhere in this world. Lydia Schaffen and Rumpelstiltskin This is a story about Lydia Schaffen that has been handed down throughout the Kingdom. Furthermore, while there are places that Lydia Schaffen has never been to according to historical records, there are stories about what happened when she visited their village. These stories contain absurd things such as dragons appearing, a strange demon which is different from the demon we know laying a wager with Lydia Schaffen. In spite of that, the villagers from the region believe the story beyond doubt, and they embrace the pride that this story about Lydia Schaffen brings, having originated from their hometown. Compared to Ruklys, who likely died early on during the Civil War, or Flurry, who rarely left the tower she built, Lydia Schaffen definitely went on a greater number of adventures around the world, making her the most suitable as the protagonist of a story. This is one of those stories. It is not known how true the story really is. Perhaps it was just as absurd in the past as it would definitely be absurd in the present. Still, the fact that it is still told today means the story agrees with the nature of Lydia Schaffen. One day Lydia Schaffen left a certain village alone and walked around at night. Lydia Schaffen saw a traveler sitting wearily at the roadside on a woodland road. Out of curiosity, she decided to approach him. "Why are you sitting here in the forest in the middle of the night?" The traveler was hesitant to answer at first, but after being asked multiple times he finally opened his mouth. The reason was apparently this: The traveler had met a demon named Rumpelstiltskin when passing through the forest several days ago. Then he was lured into playing a game with the demon. The reward for winning the game was significant, but the game with the demon was not easy. In the end, the traveler lost to Rumpelstiltskin. The traveler kept sighing as he waited for Rumpelstiltskin to come back. After hearing the traveler's story, Lydia Schaffen decided to confront the demon. She promised to the traveler that she'll help him with all her might. Some time passed, and Rumpelstiltskin appeared. Lydia offered Rumpelstiltskin to let the traveler go and play a game with her in exchange. For better or for worse, Rumpelstiltskin was well aware of Lydia Schaffen's reputation, and the fact that she requested a game with him excited him into accepting her request. In the past, Rumpelstiltskin was quite famous for challenging his opponents to use their best skill and then defeating them. But, he changed the rules of his game a bit every time. Lydia Schaffen asked: "I understand that you want to challenge my archery skill, so what are we going to do?" "Of course, a game to see who is better with a bow would not be that interesting. Therefore, let's play a game where you fire an arrow at a target, and then I will try to catch and ride the arrow before it reaches the target," said Rumpelstiltskin. Lydia replied, questioning the proposal: "Ride an arrow?" "That is correct," averred Rumpelstiltskin. Upon answering, Rumpelstiltskin started to shrink his body. Once he had reduced himself to the size of a child's fist, Rumpelstiltskin spoke: "Well, this size will allow me to ride your arrow, right?" Lydia Schaffen thought for a bit, "There is a problem with that, though. If you touch the arrow and cause it to fall to the ground without it ever hitting the target, then wouldn't that still be a loss for me regardless of whether you rode the arrow or not?" Rumpelstiltskin answered her with these words. "Then how about this. I win if I can ride your arrow until it reaches the target." "And if your arrow falls to the ground," he continued, "then we both lose." Rumpelstiltskin added, 'The game shall have three rounds, best two out of three."'' ''After Rumpelstiltskin's seemingly honest answer, Lydia Schaffen replied, 'Alright, one more thing: I'm going to shoot at any target, in any direction. I'll tell you what the target is each round. This way, you won't be able to get used to it for rounds two and three. Are you okay with this? "''Alright, let's do that," agreed Rumpelstiltskin.'' After also agreeing upon terms of defeat, the game between two people, err, one person and one demon began. Lydia Schaffen weighed her arrow, then called out the first target: "The tallest brown tree over there!" With those words, she released the arrow and it sliced through the air at a frightful speed Rumpelstiltskin moved nimbly to chase the flying arrow, and after he got on, the arrow impaled the tree. As the arrow continued to oscillate, he danced to the rhythm of the oscillation and sang an unknown tune. Lydia Schaffen again gauged her arrows, then she called: "All of the cones on that pine tree on my front-left side!" Upon calling the target, Lydia Schaffen unleashed her godlike archery skills. Her arrows poured faster than heavy rain during a hot summer day, as if hundreds, or even thousands of arrows were fired at the same time in the same direction. Rumpelstiltskin couldn't take it as calmly this round. Faster than the human eye could distinguish, Rumpelstiltskin landed on each arrow one by one and transferred to another as the barrage cut through the air. In the end, he was able to get onto the last arrow before it reached the last pine cone. Rumpelstiltskin spoke to Lydia Schaffen while trying to catch his breath. "So there, I managed to sit on every single arrow before the last arrow reached the target. I win." Lydia Schaffen replied. "Certainly, I can't deny the fact you sat on every arrow before the last one reached its target." Rumpelstiltskin gave a wicked grin after hearing Lydia Schaffen's words and said: "Meaning, I won this game. Now, as for the penalty we agreed on..." Before Rumpelstiltskin could finish, Lydia Schaffen shook her head and spoke: "Don't tell me that because you won two rounds, you won't play the final round? It's not acceptable, we clearly promised to play three rounds anyway, didn't we?" "The game doesn't end before the third round, so I think it's pointless to talk about penalties before the game has actually ended..." Recognizing that he has already won two rounds and had no reason to refuse a third, as well as the fact the game was certainly not over yet, Rumpelstiltskin had no choice but to abide by Lydia Schaffen's words. And so the final round began, Lydia Schaffen gauged her last arrow, and called out as she pulled the bowstring back: "My target is... the moon in the sky!" Rumpelstiltskin side-saddled the arrow as soon as it left the bowstring, and not before long, he realized what he heard. And, as he rode the arrow towards the moon, Rumpelstiltskin also realized the fact that the game couldn't end until he reached it. As time passed, the power of the arrow subsided and it began falling towards the ground. However, after a time the arrow that Rumpelstiltskin rode on stopped still, floating in the sky. Just as Rumpelstiltskin, grinding his teeth, was about to open his mouth, Lydia Schaffen said: "For the game to end, you need to ride the arrow until it arrives at its target. The game cannot end before then. If you manage to touched the moon and come back, then I will definitely accept the penalty." Having said so, Lydia Schaffen began walking away as Rumpelstiltskin watched, grinding his teeth once again, unable to change the course of the game. According to the anecdote, Rumpelstiltskin has not reached the moon yet, and is still flying there using the magic in his body. One can only guess if he will manage to return before his demonic life span ends. Nevertheless, as we know, Lydia Schaffen has passed away long ago. So while the demon did not lose the game, he has lost his chance to win the game forever. Still, the one matter left that we, as the current generation, are curious about is what the agreed penalty between Lydia Schaffen and Rumpelstiltskin was. Of course, we could ask a particular person, err, demon, that may or may not still be alive. However, as we do not know when he will return, it will be hard to settle this lingering matter for quite some time. References *Tree of Savior Database - tosneet *Tree of Savior Official site *ToS Guru __FORCETOC__ __NOEDITSECTION__ Category:Characters